Stories for August 7th 2018

Following the success of the first set of Falkland Islands Penguin 50p coins in 2017, Pobjoy Mint has announced the release of a brand new set of five coins featuring the five breeds of penguin that are resident on the Islands at some point during the course of the year.

Argentina's main prosecutor's office said it has reached a deal with its Brazilian counterpart to use testimony reached through plea bargains in the Operation Car Wash corruption case in local graft investigations.

Chile has become the first South American country to legally ban the widespread commercial use of plastic bags. The new legislation approved by Congress and enacted by President Sebastián Piñera, gives small shops two years to adapt to a total ban.

Portsmouth could soon fly the Falklands flag all year round as a lasting tribute to all those who died to liberate the British territory 36 years ago. Plans are afoot to install a new flagpole outside the Falklands memorial in Old Portsmouth to allow the islands’ symbol to fly above the entrance to the city’s harbor.

At midday on Tuesday, the first wave of U.S. sanctions suspended under the Iran nuclear deal will snap back into place, as the Trump administration tries to ramp up the economic pressure on Iran. But without partners in Europe, let alone buy-in from countries like Russia, China, and India, it's unclear how strong that pressure will be.

Brazil's Workers' Party announced on Monday that former Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad will become its presidential candidate if, as expected, jailed ex-president Lula da Silva is barred from running in the October election.

Ivan Duque, who will be sworn in as Colombia’s president on Tuesday, is poised to become an unusually strong ally for the Trump administration after he made a project of cultivating ties with the White House and spotlighting shared views on drug control, counterterrorism and the unfolding political and economic crisis in next-door Venezuela.

Argentine prosecutors questioned a construction executive related to President Mauricio Macri on Monday as part of a sprawling investigation into bribe payments made to the former government. Angelo Calcaterra, the former head of construction company Iecsa and Macri’s cousin, told prosecutors he was told by officials in former President Cristina Fernandez’ administration to pay cash in exchange for public works contracts.